I thought I would share bits and pieces of my life. I am a lifelong Christian. I have been married for over 37 years to Stan. No children. We have 2 Miniature Pinschers named MoneyPenny and Spunky Monkey and 3 Italian Greyhounds named Persephone, Dresden and Capodimonte. We have 9 nieces/nephews and 7 grandnieces/nephews whom we love. My hobbies are genealogy, reading, digital scrapbooking, history, dogs, homemaking.

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Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Using Rock or Stone in Landscaping

I got on the Internet and found a lot of interesting uses of rock or stone in landscaping. I tried to find photos in a wide range from expensive to affordable, from large to small projects, etc. Personally I prefer the natural look. I'm not a fan of rock veneers because they don't usually look real or natural. I also love the ideas of using water and/or fire with rock. But again, I prefer a rock pond, rock waterfall, rock stream to look natural. If it looks fake, it loses it's appeal to me. Having a black plastic pool with a few rocks on the edge isn't very natural looking. (I'm not saying I could do any better, it really takes a good eye to make it look natural and I probably don't have it.)

This rock waterfall or rock creek looks very natural.

When doing rock fireplaces, make sure you make the chimney high enough so sparks don't fly out and catch something on fire like a wooden fence, a roof, etc. It also needs to be high enough so that smoke is wicked away and not in your face. This is a nice little fireplace but I just have a feeling that the chimney isn't high enough.

This is a low and pretty stone waterfall or stone creek into a stone pond.

I love this boulder retaining wall. But I'm sure it takes some special equipment. But does it look solid or what!?!

This is a retaining wall with herbs growing in it. It looks very attractive and I LOVE fresh herbs. But look at the top of the wall where the rocks are being pushed upward by the plants. I think maybe these rocks aren't heavy enough for a dry rock wall (without mortar). Whether you plant (as in these herbs) or just seeds get in and weeds take hold, it could ruin a rock wall if the rocks aren't heavy enough to retain their place.

I like this fireplace but I don't like the fence behind it.

Isn't this such a storybook house? It looks so Jane Austin or Charlotte Bronte doesn't it? It just looks old and solid.

I love this porch and fireplace!

You know, having this fireplace backing up to a hill allows you to easily clean the chimney on the few occasions you need to. But again, you have to make sure it's high enough for sparks to die inside the chimney so that they aren't blown somewhere and starting a fire.

This looks like a good use of field rock!

This is a little to artificial looking for my tastes but it's a wonderful space. And it takes care of what it needs to take care of. It's a retaining wall that forms a patio with a fire pit.

Again, this is artificial but it does do a wonderful job of taking care of a steep backyard that would be an eyesore and soil erosion problem. It looks like it was done right!

A good look at how a retaining wall should be built. Notice it's on a slant, has a shield from plant roots, a backing of crusher run, a drain pipe on the bottom and large rocks.

This dry rock fence (no mortar) is an old design (it may be an old fence) that was popular with our forefathers.

I love how original this is! Notice the designs.

This is a lovely gravel patio. But do keep in mind that leaves and stuff will blow in and it won't remain pristine like this all the time. You will have to rake it or blow it and will need to freshen with new gravel. But I do love this! The urn is a fountain.

This is so natural looking you would think it's out in the woods but it is landscaping.

Very nice edging.

I like the water flowing into the trough. Nice touch!

Again, I wonder if this chimney is high enough although it does seem to be far enough away from the house or any other type of flamable structure.

I prefer running water versus pools or rock ponds because, where I live (SC), mosquitos are a big problem in standing water.

Very modern and chic.

I love this!!!!I like the low growing ground cover between the rocks here.

This is beautiful!

We have a slate patio and a slate front porch. The slate front porch is in great shape despite being 25 yrs old. But the slate patio has given us problems because it's in the open. It's not covered and water gets between the flagstones and freezes which causes the mortar to crack and weeds try to grow in between them. It's not large stones on the ground but a patio that is built up off the ground (don't know if this makes a difference). If we were able to replace it, we would do something different. But, the front porch, being covered, keeps the water off of it and the mortar is pristine.